Famous actresses and colleges coaches are among the dozens charged Tuesday in the largest-ever admissions bribery case unsealed in federal court.

Authorities say nine coaches at elite universities accepted bribes of "enormous sums" from 33 parents in exchange for admitting students as athletes, regardless of their ability.

Which schools are involved?

The racketeering conspiracy charges were brought against the coaches at schools including Stanford University, University of California at Los Angeles, Wake Forest University, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.

How many people are charged?

In all, 50 defendants are targeted by the Justice Department in an alleged long-running scheme of parents cheating to get their kids into college.

Officials say parents spent anywhere from $200,000 to $6.5 million to guarantee their children’s admission.

How did this happen?

Prosecutors say parents paid an admissions consultant $25 million from 2011 through Feb. 2019 to bribe coaches and administrators to mark their children as recruited athletes to boost their chances of getting into elite schools.

Prosecutors allege that fake athletic profiles were also created to make students look like strong high-school athletes.

Authorities say the consulting company also bribed administrators of college entrance exams to allow a Florida man to take the tests on behalf of students or replace their answers with his.

Why these schools?

For many, admission into a selective college is an achievement. Parents across the U.S. and worldwide spend huge amounts of money on tutors to help their children prepare for college admissions tests like the ACT or SAT.

What’s notable here is that the schools are predominately private universities, though some — like the University of California at Los Angeles or University of Texas at Austin — are public institutions.

What happens to the students admitted?

It's unclear what will happen. The response will be up to the individual universities.